Deacon for 13 years, port chaplain, served at St. Jude, Kapolei
Deacon and diocesan port chaplain Edward Vargas, who served at St. Jude Parish in Kapolei, died March 16 at Kaiser Medical Center in Honolulu. He was 65 and a deacon for 13 years.
His neighbor and friend of 20 years, Deacon John Coughlin, remembered Vargas with affection and humor.
Coughlin, who was ordained in 2007, said that Vargas and his wife Lana were instrumental in guiding him into the diaconate formation process.
He was “always encouraging, always helping to allay fears and misgivings, always encouraging and listening after a challenging formation weekend,” said Coughlin, who is now co-director with his wife of the diocesan diaconate formation program.
“Ed was the first deacon to be assigned to St. Jude,” Coughlin said. “People learned of the diaconate from observing Ed.”
Coughlin also said that Vargas’ diaconate had its light moments, recalling in particular his “ongoing battle with the paschal candle during the Easter Vigil.”
Whether it was wax spilling on his head or a candleholder that refused to release the candle, the drama continued annually, Coughlin said.
“Maybe that’s why he worked so hard to move me toward the diaconate,” Coughlin joked, “to have someone with him to share the mortification of being defeated by a four-foot cylinder of molded beeswax.”
Vargas was born on Nov. 24, 1948, in Manhattan, N.Y., and raised in Brooklyn. At age 12 his family returned to Puerto Rico where he attended high school. After he graduated, the family moved back to New York City and Vargas joined the U.S. Navy. He met and married his wife while on a three-year tour of duty in Christchurch, New Zealand. His eldest daughter was born in New Zealand.
After New Zealand, Vargas spent 27 years in the submarine force. His duty stations included Maryland, Connecticut, California, Washington and Hawaii. He retired in 1992 with the rank of master chief petty officer.
In a profile he wrote while preparing for the diaconate, he said his decision to live in Hawaii after his navy career was “an easy one” because the Islands reminded him of Puerto Rico.
Vargas said that in navigating his life after the Navy he had “always contemplated involving myself with the church in some way” and felt a “strong calling” to the diaconate.
He was ordained a deacon with five others by Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo at St. Jude Church on July 26, 2001.
At St. Jude, Deacon Vargas worked in a wide variety of parish ministries including the RCIA, Baptism, First Holy Communion and Confirmation preparation. He was also a lector, eucharistic minister and a Knight of Columbus.
He attended Hawaii Pacific University and for a time was employed by St. Louis School and Our Lady of Peace Cathedral.
Vargas’ seafaring background made him the ideal candidate for the position of port chaplain of the Apostleship of the Sea, to which Bishop Larry Silva appointed him on April 1, 2011.
The Apostleship of the Sea is an international Catholic port ministry established in 1922 by Pope Pius XI.
The local post, which at the time of Vargas’ appointment had been vacant for several years, serves the spiritual needs of Catholic merchant mariners, fishermen, oceangoing workers, recreational sailors and others who dock in Oahu’s main port city of Honolulu.
When he took the assignment, Deacon Vargas said that he welcomed the opportunity to return the warmth others had previously shown him during his stays at port.
“I always remember the kindness from the people in port when they met the ships to help us seafarers,” he said. “When they leave Honolulu, I want them to think, ‘Wow, those people in Hawaii know what they are doing.’”
In reference to Vargas’ Navy career, Coughlin said he had the bark of a “master chief, but behind that bark was really a kind and soft-hearted man who would give you the shirt off of his back.”
“I will miss our casual banter in the parking lot, our dinners together, the understanding ear after a particularly bad day, the partner in ministry and at the altar, the good friend,” Coughlin said.
Deacon Vargas is survived by wife Lana, daughters Lanita R.M. Vargas and Shannon N.M. Gates; brothers Jose, Noel, Samuel and Roberto; sisters Gladys, Maria, Milagros and Yvette; and four grandchildren.
His funeral was at St. Jude Church on March 21. He was buried at Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe.
